The IIRF with the Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University and Canopy Forum hosted a virtual symposium, Masking Religious Freedom Violations on November 20th.
The symposium involved several panelists from around the world. Their presentations explored the complex and multifaceted nature of religious discrimination, moving beyond traditional analyses and narrow definitions to incorporate perspectives from political economy and human security. The discussion addressed the limitations of conventional approaches to the empirical study of religious freedom violations, which often focus on overt displays such as the prohibition of religious literature, restricted access to places of worship, and limitations on the registration and activities of religious organizations.
Canopy Forum will be publishing the panelists essays and posting videos of the presentations on their website. For now, you can read Dr. Dennis Petri’s contribution and opening to the series, “Lifting the Mask on Undetected Religious Freedom Violations,” here. In the essay, Dr. Petri introduces some of the multiple dimensions of religious freedom and the concept of masking religious freedom violations. He presents evidence of masking religious freedom violations from his research in Latin America and explores two conceptual lenses that could provide solutions: human security and political economy. He calls for improved frameworks and language to better capture the full spectrum of religious discrimination.